Cialis causing swelling in ankle, foot, and hand

[BigBamBoo]

About 8-9 months ago I woke up and noticed my right ankle and foot were swollen pretty significantly. There was no pain so I did not think it was a sprained ankle, etc.
I tried ice and heat, but this did not help.

After about a week I went to a walk in clinic and the doctor ordered an ultra sound to rule out a blood clot.

No clot, but they noted minor leaky valve and some reflux.

I then noticed my right hand was a bit swollen as well.

Got into my PCP and he just said you are getting old and reflux is common. Hmmm….I’m 54, very active and in pretty good shape.

He did refer Me to a vein specialist. He said it was strange too and that the amount of leakage and reflux should not be casing that much swelling.

Fast forward. The swelling really began to annoy me ascetically and it affected running because of the swelling in my foot.
So I convinced the specialist to agree to have surgery to shut down the leaky veins.

I told him I took 5mg of daily Cialis, a baby aspirin a day, and listed my supplements. He said to stop taking the aspirin and garlic until after the surgery.

I took it upon myself to stop everything until after the surgery.

Well…about a week after stopping everything the swelling in my foot had gone down quite a bit. Hmmm….about 3 weeks after stopping my foot, ankle and hand are 95% normal.

I go back to the doctor…showed him my foot. Told him I stopped everything. He says he did not think it was anything listed including Cialis. Thinking it is just a coincidence.

Not a big believer in coincidence, I take 20mg of Cialis. Net day….foot and ankle are swollen again.

Back to the doctor….hmmm…says he. Ok….stop the Cialis and come back in month.

No swelling at all in that time and have cancelled the surgery. Yes, I resumed all my supplements and no problem.

I did some digging and it says 1-10 out of a 1000 is a known side effect of Cialis.

I started daily Cialis for working out, and to help keep my prostate healthy. Going to take a year off of it and maybe try again down the road and see what happens.

 

[excelnelg]

Glad you were able to make the connection. My motto with strange symptoms is always suspect the drugs first. Always quite possible that a medication or supplement affects you in ways that are not common to the majority of users and it's important to be aware of their effects on your specific body. I get skin ulcers from Cialis. I doubt it's a common side effect but a consistent one with me.

 

[Vince]

Yes, swelling of the feet or lower legs is a rare side effect of Cialis. Your body can at times adjust to the medicine.

 

[BigBamBoo]

My theory is that with the leaky valves in my leg veins the Cialis dilates the veins enough to make it “worse”.

It bums me out because i like the positive things of daily Cialis. I might revisit it in a few months with a lower dose.

 

[herbalamazon3]

I started using Cialis 20mg for ED, and it works well—but I’ve noticed some swelling in my ankle, foot, and even my hand after taking it. Is this a common side effect? Does it go away on its own, or should I lower the dose?
Would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s had a similar experience and how you managed it!

 

[Nelson Vergel]

I did a search for you:

Short answer

• Yes, peripheral swelling is a known tadalafil side effect, uncommon but reported.
• It often improves as the dose wears off.
• A lower dose often fixes it.

Why it happens

• Tadalafil relaxes blood vessels, fluid shifts into tissues, ankles and hands swell.
• Risk rises with higher doses, salt, alcohol, heat, long sitting, and some drugs that cause fluid retention.

What you should do now

• Skip heavy salt and alcohol on dose days, elevate legs, walk often, monitor weight.
• Try 10 mg next time, many respond well to 5 to 10 mg.
• If you want regular readiness, ask about 5 mg once daily, steadier levels, fewer peaks.
• Review other meds with your clinician, examples, amlodipine, NSAIDs, steroids, pioglitazone, gabapentin.
• Check blood pressure before and a few hours after dosing.

Stop tadalafil and contact a clinician urgently if any of these occur

• One-sided leg swelling with pain or warmth.
• Shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing at night.
• Rapid weight gain, more than 2 to 3 pounds in 24 hours, or 5 pounds in a week.
• Facial or tongue swelling, hives, wheeze.
• Swelling that persists beyond 48 hours or recurs each dose despite 10 mg.

If swelling was mild and tied to the 20 mg dose

• Wait for it to resolve.
• Re-trial at 10 mg, taken at least 30 to 60 minutes before sex.
• If swelling returns at 10 mg, discuss daily 5 mg, or a different ED option.